Christian Schwarz-Schilling on the Srebrenica genocide: “We should have had the political will to prevent a genocide in our neighborhood.”

“I will be ashamed to be a member of this parliament if it continues to do nothing.” Words from a politician who did not stop at doing nothing. They come from Dr. Christian Schwarz-Schilling, the former German Postal Minister, who resigned in 1992 in protest against the German government’s stance on the war in Bosnia-Herzegovina. In this interview, he talks about the extent to which the government’s attitude towards the war in the Balkans has changed and why actions in the form of projects such as “The Pillar of Shame” by Philipp Ruch are important.

You resigned from office in 1992 in protest against the German government’s stance in the Bosnian war. Do you think that the government’s attitude towards the war in the Balkans at that time has changed?

Christian Schwarz-Schilling: A lot has changed. Politicians have at times made a U-turn on the Bosnia issue. Just think of Joschka Fischer, a member of the Green Party, who had previously advocated the usual pacifism, but then, when he realized that genocide was happening here, became involved in the Balkans. In 1995, the USA took on the Bosnian crisis and ended the war by intervening and signing the Dayton Agreement. Nevertheless, I have to say that the changes that have been made are not enough, because the West only acted when the disasters had already occurred. But then it was too late. Germany had shown a completely false timidity, because it should have been Germany’s duty to act more sensitively and dutifully. It should have had the political will to prevent a genocide in our neighborhood.

In a 2007 interview, you said that the West’s impatience and indiscriminate abuse of Bosnian politicians was an excuse for the international community to spend its money on military measures rather than on concepts for a peaceful post-war policy. Is this still the case?

Yes, absolutely. Political burdens were imposed on the state of Bosnia-Herzegovina in the Dayton Peace Agreement, from which it cannot free itself. And then there is the Republika Srpska entity, which sees itself as the custodian of an ethnic warring faction and whose policies are based on the past. If a dictatorial authority in a partial state is allowed to block the future of the state as a whole, then the passivity of the international community, which ultimately created this situation, is misplaced. Blanket insults of the entire Bosnian policy on the part of the West are absolutely the wrong approach!

One of the terrible events in the Balkan war was the genocide of Srebrenica on July 11, 1995, in which more than 8,000 Muslim boys and men were murdered within a week under the eyes of the Dutch blue helmets. To this day, the mothers of Srebrenica, represented by lawyer Dr. Axel Hagedorn, are fighting for justice before the court in The Hague, albeit in vain. Can you understand the court’s position?

An international court has classified the acts of Srebrenica as genocide, because a political objective had taken place there with the aim of wiping out an ethnic group (the Muslim ethnic group). This finding is a step forward. However, it is not enough to achieve justice. But more steps will have to be taken in the future, because as more facts come to light – just think of the numerous mass graves that are still being found today – any further denial will be out of the question. The most recent example is the Srebrenica resolution in the Serbian parliament, which was passed by a wafer-thin majority. And here the term “genocide” was completely bypassed, although it would have been the key word for these atrocities.

Now, 15 years after the genocide, Philipp Ruch has launched the project “UN in Court: 16744 shoes for Srebrenica: a pillar of shame”. He is collecting 16744 shoes for the Pillar of Shame, in which the donors are to communicate their message to the West. What do you think of the idea?

I am not a born revolutionary; in my political life I tried to prevent undesirable developments through political considerations and actions that were given to me because of my positions. That’s why I decided to resign in 1992 and send out a signal. But because of the lack of interest, disrespect and selfishness, even irresponsibility and human rights violations against Bosnian citizens, a spectacular action is needed to draw attention to this problem. On the one hand, I think the project is good in this respect, but on the other hand, I am sad that such an action is still needed today.

Will the Pillar be able to contribute to a change in the attitude of the EU and the international community towards Bosnia and Herzegovina?

In part, yes. Because through this action, the civilian population is also defending itself against the fact that politicians are allowing such human rights violations.

If you were to donate a shoe to the project, what message would you send to Europe along with the shoe so that it understands the concerns, wishes or suffering of people from one of Europe’s youngest countries?

All people in Germany have basic rights. This is what the Basic Law wanted after the terrible experiences of the Holocaust. And so it is also the direct duty of every citizen to prevent and combat genocide.

Philipp Ruch said he would lead a new fight. He calls it a “fight for justice via the media”. What do you think of the idea?

It is allowed because we live in a democratic state and it is absolutely essential that the state also takes note of priorities expressed by civil society. Just think of the Scholl siblings, who sacrificed their lives in the fight against National Socialism. Compared to a dictatorial state, where such actions can put one’s life in danger, the obligation of every citizen in a constitutional state to draw attention to such injustices in a peaceful manner is all the greater.

Dr. Schwarz-Schilling, thank you very much for the interview.